Wood golf club head and method for manufacturing the same

ABSTRACT

A wood golf club head and a method for manufacturing the same are provided, The wood golf club head has a metal body, a metal strike face, a back plate, a packing chamber, an elastic colloid, and a crown. The metal strike face is welded on the metal body. The back plate is fixed on the body behind the metal strike face. The packing chamber is formed between the metal strike face and the back plate. The elastic colloid is s filled into the packing chamber. The crown is fixed on a top surface of the body. A front side structure of the wood golf club head includes the metal strike face, the elastic colloid, and the back plate for increasing impact resilience, an impact distance, cushioning performance, and soft feel upon impacting, and decreasing an unpleasant metallic sound upon impacting.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a wood golf club head and a method for manufacturing a wood golf club head, and more particularly to a wood golf club head and a method for manufacturing the wood golf club head that may improve the impact resilience, the cushioning performance, and the manufacturing convenience. 2. Description of Related Art

A conventional wood golf club head is a hollow element having a special shape. In manufacture, a face opening is formed through a front surface of a hollow body of the conventional wood golf club head, and then a strike face of the conventional wood golf club head is fixedly disposed on the hollow body and is located at the face opening of the hollow body to form the conventional wood golf club head that is hollow Alternatively, a strike face is integratedly formed on the front surface of the hollow body. A crown opening is formed through a top surface of the hollow body. A crown fixedly covers the crown opening of the hollow body to form the conventional wood golf club head that is hollow

Structure of the strike face of the conventional wood golf club head is single-layered. The impact resilience of the strike face is restricted. It is difficult to achieve a long distance impact performance. The cushioning performance of the strike face of the conventional wood golf head is not good.

In use, the conventional wood golf club head does not provide a soft feel for impacting and is easy to cause an unpleasant metallic sound.

For overcoming the problems that the impact resilience and the cushioning performance of the single-layered strike face are insufficient, a sheet plate is disposed on a back surface of the strike face and has a recess formed on the sheet plate. A shock-absorbing material can be filled into the recess and is located at the back surface of the strike face for promoting the cushioning performance of the strike face.

As above mentioned, the sheet plate having the recess is fixedly connected to the back surface of the strike face, and the shock-absorbing material is filled into the recess to form a multi-layered strike face. Although the multi-layered strike face provides the cushioning effect, structure of the multi-layer type strike face is not good for the impact resilience, The cushioning performance of the multi-layered strike face is limited. Moreover, the manufacture of the conventional wood golf club head is inconvenient.

To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a wood golf club head and a method for manufacturing a wood golf club head to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The objective of the invention is to provide a wood golf club head and a method for manufacturing a wood golf club head to solve the problems that the impact resilience of the conventional wood golf club head is bad, the cushioning performance of the conventional wood golf club head is bad, and the manufacture of the conventional wood golf club head is inconvenient.

The wood golf club head has a body, a strike face, a back plate, a packing chamber, an elastic colloid, and a crown.

The body is made of metal and has a base portion and a connecting portion. The base portion has a side, a front surface, a top surface, a face opening, an inner edge, a fixing ring wall, and a crown. The face opening is formed through the front surface of the base portion. The inner edge is formed on the front surface of the base portion and surrounds the face opening of the base portion. The fixing ring wall is formed on and protrudes out of the inner edge of the base portion, and is inserted into the face opening of the base portion. The crown opening is formed through the top surface of the base portion. The connecting portion is formed on the side of the base portion

The strike face is made of metal, is welded on the front surface of the base portion, and is located in the face opening of the base portion. The back plate is fixedly disposed on the fixing ring wall of the base portion, and is located behind the strike face. The packing chamber is formed between the strike face and the back plate. The elastic colloid is filled into the packing chamber between the strike face and the back plate. The crown is fixed on the top surface of the base portion, and is located in the crown opening of the base portion.

In the wood golf club head, a front side structure of the wood golf club head is composed of the strike face made of metal, the elastic colloid, and the back plate. The strike face and the back plate are respectively fixed on the body for increasing a range of the packing chamber to increase a distributed range of the elastic colloid. The impact resilience of the wood golf club head is increased by the elastic colloid filled between the strike face and the back plate for increasing an impact distance. Simultaneously, the elastic colloid can absorb an impact force after impacting for increasing the cushioning performance of the wood golf club head, increasing a soft feel upon impacting, and decreasing an unpleasant metallic sound upon impacting.

The method for manufacturing the wood golf club head in accordance with the present invention has steps of:

(a). preparing a body made of a metallic material, a strike face made of a metallic material, a back plate, and a crown, wherein

the body has a base portion, the base portion has a front surface, a top surface, a face opening, an inner edge, a fixing ring wall, and a crown opening, the face opening is formed through the front surface of the base portion, the inner edge is formed on the front surface of the base portion and surrounds the face opening of the base portion, the fixing ring wall is formed on and protrudes out of the inner edge of the base portion, and is inserted into the face opening of the base portion, and the crown opening is formed through the top surface of the base portion; and

the back plate has at least one injection hole and at least one vent, the at least one injection hole is formed through the back plate, and the at least one vent is formed through the back plate;

(b). welding the strike face on the front surface of the base portion in the face opening of the base portion;

(c). welding the back plate on the fixing ring wall of the base portion in the face opening of the base portion, wherein a packing chamber is formed between the strike face and the back plate, and the at least one injection hole and the at least one vent communicate with the packing chamber;

(d). injecting an elastic colloid into the packing chamber, and then waiting for the elastic colloid to solidify, wherein the elastic colloid is injected into the packing chamber via the at least one injection hole of the hack plate, and air in the packing chamber exhausts out of the packing chamber via the at least one vent; and

(e). fixing the crown on the top surface of the base portion, wherein the crown is located in the crown opening of the base portion to form a hollow wood golf club head.

The method for manufacturing the wood golf club head is used to manufacture the front side structure of the wood golf club head including the strike face made of metal, the elastic colloid, and the back plate. The impact resilience and the cushioning performance are increased by the elastic colloid between the strike face and the back plate. The strike face and the back plate are respectively fixed on a front side of the body. The crown opening is formed through the top surface of the base portion and is conducive to fill the elastic colloid into the packing chamber between the strike face and the back plate. After filling the elastic colloid, the crown is fixed on the base portion and is located in the crown opening of the base portion. The method for manufacturing the wood golf club head is more convenient.

Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional side view of a first embodiment of a wood golf club head in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the wood golf club head in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view in partial section of the wood golf club head in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the wood golf club head in FIG. 1, showing a body, a strike face, and a back plate of the wood golf club head.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view in partial section of the wood golf club head in FIG. 4, showing the strike face and the back plate are fixed on the body to form a packing chamber;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged side view in partial section of a second embodiment of a wood golf club head in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional rear side view of the wood golf club head in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged side view in partial section of the wood golf club head in FIG. 5 after filling an elastic colloid into the packing chamber; and

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of a method for manufacturing the wood golf club head in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to FIG. 1, a first embodiment of a wood golf club head in accordance with the present invention comprises a body 10, a strike face 20, a back plate 30, a packing chamber 60, an elastic colloid 40, and a crown 50.

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, the body 10 is made of metal including titanium alloy (such as 6-4 titanium alloy or 8-1-1 titanium alloy) or stainless steel (such as SUS 630 stainless steel or SUS 431 stainless steel). The body 10 has a base portion 11 and a connecting portion 12 formed on a side of the base portion 11 for connecting a rod. The base portion 11 has a front surface, a top surface, a face opening 13, an inner edge, a fixing ring wall 14, a crown opening 15, and a connecting ring wall 16. The face opening 13 is formed through the front surface of the base portion 11. The inner edge of the base portion 11 is formed on the front surface of the base portion 11 and surrounds the face opening 13 of the base portion 11. The fixing ring wall 14 is formed on and protrudes out of the inner edge of the base portion 11, and is inserted into the face opening 13 of the base portion 11. The crown opening 15 is formed through the top surface of the base portion 11. The connecting ring wall 16 is formed on and protrudes out of the inner edge of the base portion 11, and is inserted into the crown opening 15 of the base portion 11 for fixing the crown 50.

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, a width of the fixing ring wall 14 ranges preferably from 1 mm to 10 mm. A thickness of the fixing ring wail 14 ranges preferably from 0.3 mm to 3 mm A width of the connecting ring wall 16 ranges preferably from 2 mm to 12 mm. A thickness of the connecting ring wall 16 ranges preferably from 0.3 mm to 3 mm.

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, the strike face 20 is made of metal, such as titanium alloy or steel. The strike face 20 is welded on the front surface of the base portion 11, and is located in the face opening 13 of the base portion 11. With reference to FIG. 6, the strike face 20A is a plate with a uniform thickness. Alternatively, a thickness of a central section of the strike face 20 and a thickness of a marginal section of the strike face 20 are unequal.

Material of the strike face 20 may be selected from titanium alloy, such as SSAT-2041 titanium alloy, SP-700 titanium alloy, Data 55 titanium alloy, 15-3-3-3 titanium alloy, or 6-4 titanium alloy. With reference to FIG. 5, the thickness of the central section of the strike face 20 is larger than the thickness of the marginal section of the strike face 20. The thickness of the strike face 20 varies preferably from 1.5 mm to 5.0 mm. In addition, the thickness of the central section of the strike face 20 is less than the thickness of the marginal section of the strike face 20. Additionally, with reference to FIG. 6, the strike face 20A is the plate with a uniform thickness, and the thickness of the strike face 20A preferably ranges from 1.8 mm to 3.5 mm.

Material of the strike face 20 may be selected from steel, such as maraging steel, SUS 630 stainless steel, SUS 450 stainless steel, SUS 460 stainless steel, SUS 475 stainless steel, chromium molybdenum steel, carbon alloy steel, SUS 4130 stainless steel, SUS 4140 stainless steel, or SUS 4340 stainless steel. The strike face 20 has excellent characteristics such as high strength and high elastic modulus. With reference to FIG. 6, the strike face 20A is the plate with a uniform thickness, and the thickness of the strike face 20A ranges preferably from 1.5 mm to 3.5 mm. In addition, with reference to FIG. 5, the thickness of the central section of the strike face 20 is larger than the thickness of the marginal section of the strike face 20. The thickness of the strike face 20 changes preferably from 1.2 mm to 4.0 mm. Additionally, the thickness of the central section of the strike face 20 is less than the thickness of the marginal section of the strike face 20.

With reference to FIGS. 1, 5, and 7, the back plate 30 is fixedly disposed on the fixing ring wall 14 of the base portion 11, and is located behind the strike face 20. A packing chamber 60 is formed between the strike face 20 and the back plate 30. The back plate 30 is fixed on the fixing ring wall 14 of the base portion 11 by welding or by adhesion using an adhesive, such as epoxy resin. A depth of the packing chamber 60 (a distance between the strike face 20 and the back plate 30) ranges preferably from 0.3 mm to 6 mm. The back plate 30 has at least one injection hole 31 and at least one vent 32. The at least one injection hole 31 and the at least one vent 32 are all formed through the back plate 30 and communicate with the packing chamber 60.

With reference to FIGS. 1, 5, and 7, the back plate 30 is made of a light material having low specific gravity. The gravity of the light material ranges preferably from 0.5 g/c.c. to 4.5 g/c.c. A depth of the back plate 30 ranges preferably from 0.1 mm to 3.0 mm. The thickness of the back plate 30 should not be too thick to avoid increasing a weight of the back plate 30. The back plate 30 may be made of metal, such as magnesium alloy or aluminum magnesium alloy. In addition, the hack plate 30 may be made of a thermosetting non-metallic material, such as carbon fiber composite material or glass fiber composite material. Additionally, the back plate 30 may be made of a thermoplastic non-metallic material, such as polycarbonate (PC), low-density polyethylene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), or nylon.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 8, the elastic colloid 40 is filled into the packing chamber 60 between the strike face 20 and the back plate 30. The elastic colloid 40 is made of soft colloid having elasticity and is, in the liquid state, filled into the packing chamber 60 between the strike face 20 and the back plate 30. In the packing chamber 60, the phase of the elastic colloid 40 changes from liquid to solid after a while. The elastic colloid 40 in the solid state has elasticity. Hardness of the elastic colloid 40 in the solid state ranges preferably from 5° to 45° on Shore A. The elastic colloid 40 is made of silicone fluid, polyurethane (PU), thermal plastic rubber (SEBS), epoxy resin, and rubber fluid.

With reference to FIG. 1, the crown 50 covers and is fixed on the top surface of the base portion 11 of the body 10, and is located in the crown opening 15 of the base portion 11. The wood golf club head is hollow Furthermore, the crown 50 is fixed on the connecting ring wall 16 of the base portion 10 by welding or adhesion.

The crown 50 is made of a light material having low specific gravity. The gravity of the light material ranges preferably from 0.5 g/c.c. to 4.5 g/c.c. The crown 50 may be made of metal, such as magnesium alloy or aluminum magnesium alloy. in addition, the crown 50 may be made of a thermosetting non-metallic material, such as carbon fiber composite material or glass fiber composite material. Additionally, the crown 50 may be made of a thermoplastic non-metallic material, such as polycarbonate (PC), low-density polyethylene (PE), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), or nylon.

With reference to FIG. 9, a method for manufacturing the wood golf club head in accordance with the present invention comprises steps as follows.

With reference to FIGS. 2 to 4, and 9, prepare a preformed body 10 made of a metallic material and a strike face 20 made of a metallic material. The body 10 is preformed before the step of preparing the body 10 and has the base portion 11. The base portion 11 has the face opening 13, the fixing ring wall 14, and the crown opening 15. The face opening 13 is formed through the front surface of the base portion 11. The fixing ring wall 14 is formed on and protrudes out of the inner edge of the base portion 11, and is inserted into the face opening 13 of the base portion 11. The crown opening 15 is formed through the top surface of the base portion 11. The back plate 30 has the at least one injection hole 31 and the at least one vent 32. The at least one injection hole 31 and the at least one vent 32 are all formed through the back plate 30.

With reference to FIGS. 4, 5, and 9, weld the strike face 20 on the front surface of the base portion 11 in the face opening 13 of the base portion 11.

With reference to FIGS. 4 to 7, and 9, weld the back plate 30 on the fixing ring wall 14, and the at least one injection hole 31 and the at least one vent 32 of the back plate 30 communicate with the packing chamber 60 between the strike face 20 and the back plate 30.

With reference to FIGS. 5 to 9, inject the soft elastic colloid 40 into the packing chamber 60, and then wait for the elastic colloid 40 to solidify, wherein the elastic colloid 40 is injected into the packing chamber 60 via the at least one injection hole 31 of the back plate 30, and air in the packing chamber 60 exhausts out of the packing chamber 60 via the at least one vent 32 of the back plate 30.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 9, fix the crown 50 on the top surface of the base portion 11, and the crown 50 is located in the crown opening 15 of the base portion 11 to form a hollow wood golf club head.

After the strike face 20 is welded on the front surface of the base portion 11 and is located in the face opening 13 of the base portion 11, the method for manufacturing the wood golf club head further has a heat treatment step for eliminating an internal stress generated after the strike face 20 is welded on the body 10. The strength of the body 10 and the strike face 20 are increased appropriately.

Materials selected for the body 10, the strike face 20, the back plate 30, the crown 50, and the elastic colloid 40 are described above and will not be described hereafter. The strike face 20 is made of metal and is manufactured by casting, mold pressing, or punching. When the back plate 30 and the crown 50 are both preformed and made of metal, the back plate 30 and the crown 50 are manufactured by mold pressing or punching. When the back plate 30 and the crown 50 are both preformed and made of non-metallic materials, the back plate 30 and the crown 50 are manufactured by molding.

The hack strike 30 is fixed on the fixing ring wall 14 of the body 10 by adhesion and is located in the face opening 13. The crown 50 is fixed on the body 10 by adhesion and is located in the crown opening 15.

Accordingly, in the wood golf club head and the method for manufacturing the wood golf club head, a front side structure of the wood golf club head includes the strike face 20 made of metal, the elastic colloid 40, and the back plate 30. The impact resilience of the wood golf club head is increased by the elastic colloid 40 filled between the strike face 20 and the back plate 30 for increasing an impact distance. Simultaneously, the elastic colloid 4( )can absorb an impact force after impacting for increasing the cushioning performance of the wood golf club head, increasing a soft feel upon impacting, and decreasing an unpleasant metallic sound upon impacting. 

1. A wood golf club head comprising: a body made of metal, and having a base portion having a side; a front surface; a top surface; a face opening formed through the front surface of the base portion; an inner edge formed on the front surface of the base portion and surrounding the face opening of the base portion; a fixing ring wall formed on and protruding out of the inner edge of the base portion, and inserted into the face opening of the base portion; and a crown opening formed through the top surface of the base portion; and a connecting portion formed on the side of the base portion; a strike face made of metal, welded on the front surface of the base portion, and located in the face opening of the base portion; a back plate fixedly disposed on the fixing ring wall of the base portion, and located behind the strike face; a packing chamber formed between the strike face and the back plate; an elastic colloid filled into the packing chamber between the strike face and the back plate; and a crown covering and fixed on the top surface of the base portion, and located in the crown opening of the base portion.
 2. The wood golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein the back plate is adhesively fixed on the fixing ring wall of the base portion; the base portion having a ring edge formed on the top surface of the base portion and surrounding the crown opening of the base portion; and a connecting ring wall formed on and protruding out of the ring edge of the base portion, and inserted into the crown opening of the base portion; and the crown being adhesively fixed on the connecting ring wall of the base portion.
 3. The wood golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein the strike face is a plate with a uniform thickness.
 4. The wood golf club head as claimed in claim 2, wherein the strike face is a plate with a uniform thickness.
 5. The wood golf club head as claimed in claim 1, wherein a thickness of a central section of the strike face and a thickness of a marginal section of the strike face are unequal.
 6. The wood golf club head as claimed in claim 2, wherein a thickness of a central section of the strike face and a thickness of a marginal section of the strike face are unequal. 7-8. (canceled) 